( 32 ) 21.. Tho unfixed Officers were called Minifters in General, and Stew- ardsof God'sMyfteries, and Evangelifts: But the fixed Officers, were allo efpecially called Bifhops, Paltors, and Elders : Though fometime rarely the other all'o had fuch Titles, becaufe of their doing the fame work tranfiently in the Churcheswhere theycame. 22. They that were unfixedPreachers or Evangelifts, hadnot that fpe- dial and particular Chargeof all the fouls inparticular Churches, and in fame one Church aboveall the reft, as fixed Bifhops or Paltors have : But they had a greater Obligation than thefe Bifhops to preach to Infidels, becaufe it was their ordinary chief work. 23. The Paltors ofparticular Churches had fuch aCharge of thofe par- ticular Flocks, above all other Flocks (materially,) as that theywere not obliged equally to do the fame for others as they did for them : Though yet when they had a particular call, they might tranfiently or occafion- ally perform theworkof the Paftoral Office, to other Churches. 24. This relation to their particular Flock, wasnot fuch as difobliged them from their higher regard of the Univerfal Church: For our rela- tion to that is ftrifter andmore indilTolublethan to anyparticular Church : And we muff always finally prefer the Church Univerfal, though maté- rially we are to labour in our particular Churches principally (and fome_ times only) becaufe by fuch Order the Church Univerfal is belt edi- fied. 1 25. TheApoftles ufually (but not only) planted Churches in great Ci- ties ; rather than in Country Villages. 26. This was not that hereby they might oblige others to confine Churches to Cities only, nor becaufe they had any fpecial honour for a City, but becaufe they were the places of greateft Concourfe, and had belt opportunity for Affemblies, and moft materials to work up- on. 27. Neither the Apoftles nor others for fome Ages after Chrift, did -divide the Countries about fuch Cities, andaffign part of them to be the Diocefsof one Bifhop, and the other part to the Bifhopof the next ad- joyningCity: Nor was there any bounding of Parilhes or Diocefs, nor any determination, to which Bifhop fuch and fuch ground, or Villages of unconvetted Infidels did belong. Only as natural prudence guided them (and the fpirit of God,) they fo difperfed themfelves that none might hinder another in his work; bat as molt tended to the propaga- tion and orderly governing of the Churches. 28. Therefore noCity Bifhop had fuch aParticular Chargeofthe fouls ofall the individual Infidels, either in his City or the Country round a- bout him (which fome feign to have been his Diocefs) as he had ofthe foulsof theChurch which he was Pallor of. Though he was bound todo all that he could to convert all as he had opportunity, he flood not in any Paftoral relation to thisor that individual Infidel, as he did to allthe individual Chriftians of his charge. Jga. tiler requireth the Bilbopn know to
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